Minister Canney Welcomes Broadband Rollout Near Barnaderg as National Plan Delivers for Rural Galway
Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports and Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers, has welcomed National Broadband Ireland’s announcement that almost 2,800 Galway homes, businesses and farms in the Barnaderg deployment area can now order high-speed fibre broadband. This includes rural surrounds and townlands near Tuam, Cooloo and Moyne.
Minister Canney – who was centrally involved in the creation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) in 2019 as Minister of State for Natural Resources, Community Affairs and Digital Development and Chair of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce, working alongside then Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton – said the rollout is “making a real difference for homes, schools, farms and businesses across the country.”
“When we designed the National Broadband Plan, the objective was simple but ambitious: no community left behind. Seeing 2,777 Barnaderg-area premises now ready to connect – and almost 30,000 across Galway able to order or pre-order – shows that ambition turning into reality,” Minister Canney said.
“This is boosting remote working, enabling digital tools on farms, supporting local businesses and giving families reliable connectivity. It’s the biggest investment in rural infrastructure since rural electrification, and it’s delivering.”
Across County Galway, 41,000 premises are within the State’s Intervention Area under the NBP, with €53 million in Government investment committed.
To date, 29,953 premises countywide can pre-order or order a high-speed connection on the NBI network, and 10,362 connections have already been made. Areas already completed include the rural surrounds of Athenry, Clonfert and Maam.
Build activity continues, with works in progress for over 2,900 premises around Belclare, which are due to be connectable by the end of next year.
Residents can check their status by visiting nbi.ie and entering their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect or to sign up for rollout updates.
The NBP also provides Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) – free public high-speed Wi-Fi hubs – ahead of full fibre rollout. Examples in Galway include Ballyglunin Train Station, Tuam Golf Club and Cortoon Community Centre, with primary schools in the Intervention Area also connected for educational access.
NBI has now passed almost 420,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 149,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 35% is well ahead of projections and international comparisons and surpasses 50% in areas of the country where the network has been live for 18 months.